Google launched Project Ara, a project that will give users more of a choice when buying a cell phone.“Google’s Project Ara is based on the goal of giving consumers more choice in terms of its capabilities, appearance, composition, cost, and life span. Google will do that by providing the basic frame, or ‘endoskeleton,’ that can hold the swappable modules of batteries, storage, processors, cameras, speakers, and other components — as opposed to a slab of a phone whose parts cannot be tinkered with. The strategy could help Google get smartphones into the hands of millions or even billions of people who’ve never had them,” reported VentureBeat.“Architecturally, though, the model isn’t completely new. Do-it-yourself types have built computers containing only the components they want for several years. Even servers for data centers have seen a similar level of customization, thanks to Facebook’s Open Compute Project. With Project Ara, this degree of personalization could come to smartphones at scale,” they added.

The lucky ‘test subjects’ for this new technology are the people of Puerto Rico.The tech giant announced that it will start a pilot program on the island.Google said in a statement,” Puerto Ricans are mobile first …The carrier landscape is diverse and competitive with U.S., Latin American, and local carriers. As a U.S. territory, Puerto Rico is under FCC jurisdiction so we would continue our work with the FCC on a regulatory approach for Ara. Puerto Rico is a gateway from the U.S. to the world … It is well-connected as a communications, logistics and trade hub. It has designated free trade zones which we can use for importing modules from developers worldwide. University of Puerto system (all 11 campuses) have joined the ATAP Multi-University Research Agreement (MURA) which provides an agile and flexible mechanism for engaging individual faculty and labs in research to support Ara and other ATAP projects.”